10 Crime Fiction CRIME


If England treats her criminals the way she treated me, she doesn’t deserve to have any.


- Oscar Wilde


73507 ONE BLOODY THING AFTER ANOTHER: The World’s Gruesome History by Jacob F. Field


This gruesome history starts with the atrocities of Caligula and Nero, but Britain had its own doughty warrior who fought back against the Romans: Boudicca, who after being flogged and raped by the Roman invaders, took her revenge with a


ruthless massacre and torture. The torture continued in the Renaissance with the Spanish Inquisition, the persecution of witches, the Chinese Death of 1,000 Cuts, the conquest of the Incas and the exploits of Ivan the Terrible. 192pp, line drawings. £9.99 NOW £3.50


73579 THE SUPERNATURAL MURDERS: Classic Stories of True Crime by Jonathan Goodman


This anthology of 13 true crime stories also includes the mysterious slaying of Charles Walton found slashed and pierced to death, the murder of Eric Tombe whose body was located because of a recurring dream in which his mother saw Eric down a well, the terrorising of Hammersmith in the early 19th century by a ‘ghost’, the Salem witchcraft trials, the murder of Rasputin, a Scottish tale where the ghost of a victim was allowed at the murderer’s trial and the bizarre goings-on at 112 Ocean Avenue, Amityville, where an entire family was murdered and the new occupants have witnessed all manner of sinister events, including the presence of poltergeist - or were they? 198pp in illus paperback. £16.50 NOW £5


73568 MURDER ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS


by Jonathan Goodman Here is the 1923 shooting at the Savoy Hotel in London of Prince Ali Kamel Fahmy Bey at the hands of his wife, and here too is the Crime of the Century, the kidnapping and murder of the Lindbergh baby in 1932, which was complicated by the fact that although Bruno Richard Hauptmann was executed for the


crime, the evidence was suspect. If readers want to be really revolted, they can read about Michele de Marco Lupo, a gay man who coaxed other homosexuals to meet with him, then savagely bit them and strangled them. 358 paperback pages, line drawings. £16.95 NOW £5


72359 THE DANGEROUS OTTO KATZ: The Many Lives of a Soviet Spy by Jonathan Miles


Dashing, intelligent and lethal, Otto Katz (1895-1952) was one of the 20th century’s most accomplished spies, the inspiration for Victor Lazlo in Casablanca. Lover of Marlene Dietrich, one of the first to alert the world to the threat of Hitler, infiltrator of England and recruiter of the Cambridge spies, Stalin’s head of operations during the Spanish Civil War and arranger of Trotsky’s assassination, he was also a playboy socialite in Hollywood. Noel Coward was employed by MI6 to attempt to “turn” him after WWII. He was accused of treason, convicted on charges that were patently untrue and hanged in Prague on 3 December 1952. 365pp, photos.


$26 NOW £4 58201 CRIME SCENES


edited by David Stuart Davies ‘Crime Scene’ is a sparkling collection of short stories written by modern masters and mistresses of the crime fiction genre. The impressive cast of contributors includes well-respected and well- established names such as Peter Lovesey, Edward Marston, Natasha Cooper, Judith Cutler and Russell James as well as those currently making their reputation as fine


exponents of their craft and a few young lions whose work is bristling with promise. Paperback. 354pp. ONLY £3


72541 SIX: The Real James Bonds 1909-1939 by Michael Smith


The British Secret Intelligence Service, which would eventually become MI6, was first set up in 1909. Smith tells the complete story of the Service’s founding and early years, and the remarkable men that ran things and often did the actual spying. The SIS was instrumental in other major events,


such as the murder of Rasputin, thought to be working with German operatives (and having the ear of the German-born Tsarina) to persuade the Tsar to make peace with Germany. Following the Romanov’s downfall the SIS also undertook some astonishingly daring missions inside Bolshevik Russia, and there were others to New York and the Middle East. In the 1930s the focus shifted back to Hitler’s Germany. 468pp paperback, b/w photos. £12.99 NOW £4


CRIME FICTION


She was a blonde. The kind of blonde that would make a bishop kick in a stained glass window.


- Raymond Chandler


73942 THE DAIN CURSE by Dashiell Hammett Miss Gabriel Dain Leggett is young and wealthy, with a penchant for morphine and religious cults. She also has an unfortunate effect on the people around her - they die, violently. Is she the victim of a family curse? The short, squat, utterly unsentimental Continental Op, the best private detective around, has his doubts and finds


himself confronting something infinitely more dangerous. This is the Continental Op’s most bizarre case and a tautly crafted masterpiece of suspense. A novel of realistic intrigue by the unsurpassed master. 250pp in paperback.


£7.99 NOW £4.75


73951 FALCONER’S KNOT: A Tale of Poison, Bloodshed and


Passion by Mary Hoffman Silvano and Chiara are two teenagers with a difference. He has been accused of a murder he did not commit. She has been abandoned by her family. They are forced to seek refuge in a neighbouring convent and friary but, when they meet, they are drawn to each other as they become aware that they


are both ill at ease with monastic life. Several grisly murders strike terror into the close-knit community. The boy and girl cling together within the terrifying spiral of death as they, and the friends they have made, attempt to solve the bloody crimes. A remarkably rich murder mystery, with all the pace and action of a thriller, and all the colour and passion of medieval Italy, by an acclaimed author. 297 pages with list of characters, historical note and details of the hours of The Divine Office.


£12.99 NOW £4


73978 PAINTED LADY: A Christopher Redmayne


Mystery by Edward Masters A beautiful woman. An unrequited love. An excuse for murder. London 1671. Araminta Jewell is one of the great beauties of her day and even her marriage to the staid Sir Martin Culthorpe has not discouraged her hordes of admirers. It is during the sitting for a portrait that architect Christopher Redmayne


first meets her, although he has heard much about her from his brother Henry, one of her most ardent pursuers. Before the portrait can be finished and revealed, Sir Martin is murdered. Joining forces with his friend, the Puritan Constable Jonathan Bale, Redmayne embarks on a quest to discover the killer’s identity. 350pp in paperback.


£7.99 NOW £4.75


73979 PARLIAMENT HOUSE: A Christopher Redmayne


Mystery by Edward Masters London 1670. Commissioned to design and build a new house for the merchant Francis Polegate, architect Christopher Redmayne is delighted when the project is completed without a hitch. He throws a lavish party, but it comes to an abrupt end when one of the guests is murdered upon leaving the


house. With blood staining the doorstep, Redmayne can’t help but feel involved. With the help of his friend, Constable Jonathan Bale, he vows to find the killer and bring him to justice. Who in their midst has blood on their hands? Suspicions run high and the life of someone close to him in peril means Redmayne discovers that politics really can be deadly. 349pp in paperback. £7.99 NOW £4.75


73986 PROPHECY: An


Historical Thriller by S. J. Parris


Giordano Bruno - renegade monk, philosopher, scientist, poet and magician - was a real, historical figure. In this gripping novel, he is portrayed as having a blend of rare knowledge and a Sherlockian instinct that serves him well as he searches for a clever killer. It is 1583 in London, a year when Jupiter


and Saturn align in a new sign of the zodiac - an astrological phenomenon that occurs only once in every thousand years. The streets are rife with predictions of horrific events to come. Fear has taken a vicious grip on the court ever since one of Queen Elizabeth’s young maids of honour was found dead with astrological symbols carved into her flesh. Her corpse was clutching a witch’s doll fashioned to resemble the monarch - murdered. The Queen turns to her personal astrologer, Dr John Dee for elucidation. Can Bruno solve the mystery without putting the Queen, England and his own life in terrible danger? 375 thrilling pages. $26.95 NOW £5


73343 CHARLES JESSOLD CONSIDERED A MURDERER by Wesley Stace


The night before brilliant but erratic composer Charles Jessold’s opera, about a betrayed husband who murders


his wife and her lover, is due to open, Jessold is found dead, apparently having murdered his wife and her lover. Leslie Shepherd, music critic and Jessold’s collaborator on the opera, reflects on the scandalous affair in a dazzling, passionate and witty novel about the dangerous relationship between artist and critic. A witty, erudite, polished and subtle tale of English music with Wodehouse-style dialogue. 344pp in paperback. £7.99 NOW £3


73345 CLOSE UP ON DEATH by Maureen O’Brien


In an Inspector Bright mystery, here the body of talented TV actress Liza Drew is found in an empty house in north London. Her family and friends are stunned. Liza had no enemies. Sent to investigate, Detective Inspector John Bright concentrates on the motives of three people closest to her - her mother, her lover Paul, and her best friend Millie. 252pp in new paperback reprint of the 1989 original. £6.99 NOW £4.75


73353 FADEAWAY GIRL: A Novel by Martha Grimes


In a suspenseful, intriguing sequel to her best-selling novel Belle Ruin, the author re-introduces readers to the unflappable and irresistible Emma Graham, waitress in her mother’s decaying summer hotel, cub reporter for the local newspaper and still a sleuth. She is also stubbornly refusing to quit the trail of the truth behind several old, intertwined crimes - three murders, the attempted murder of herself, and the supposed kidnapping of the four-month-old Slade baby from the Belle Ruin Hotel 20 years previously. It is a demanding and vexatious puzzle. Will Emma be able to solve it? 323 pages. £16.99 NOW £5


73439 HIDE AND SEEK: An Inspector Rebus Novel by Ian Rankin


A junkie lies dead in an Edinburgh squat, spreadeagled, cross-like on the floor between two burned-down candles, a five-pointed star daubed on the wall above. Just another dead addict, until John Rebus begins to chip away at the indifference, treachery, deceit and sleaze that lurks behind the façade of the Edinburgh familiar to the tourists. Only he seems to care about a death which looks more like a murder every day, about a seductive danger he can almost taste, appealing to the darkest corners of his mind. Here is the real gritty Edinburgh. With reading group notes and illustrations, 261pp in paperback.


£7.99 NOW £3.50


73444 LET IT BLEED: An Inspector Rebus Novel by Ian Rankin


Struggling through another Edinburgh winter, Inspector John Rebus finds himself sucked into a web of intrigue that throws up more questions than answers. Was the Lord Provost’s daughter kidnapped or just another runaway? Why is a city councillor shredding documents that should have been waste paper years ago? And why on earth is Rebus invited to a clay pigeon shoot at the home of the Scottish Office’s Permanent Secretary? Sucked into the machine that is modern Scotland, he confronts the fact that some of his enemies may be beyond justice. With reading group notes, maps and illus. 360pp in paperback. £7.99 NOW £3.50


72950 STOLEN: Sunday Times Bestsellers by Tess Gerritsen


The sinking of a cargo ship and the slaughter of its crew seemed a senseless act of violence, but Clea Rice knows the truth and is determined to expose the culprits. When Jordan Tavistock is asked to steal the indiscreet letters of a friend, he reluctantly obliges only to be caught red- handed by another burglar. That burglar is Clea, looking for something else entirely. Only together can they find the answers to the sinister questions surrounding the sinking of the ship, answers that some are prepared to kill for to keep buried. 330pp in paperback. £6.99 NOW £3.50


73146 STAGESTRUCK by Peter Lovesey Lovesey picks up the conventions of the classic English detective novel and delivers then with a contemporary twist. Clarion Calhoun is a fading pop star wanting to launch an acting career. The audience at her début at Bath’s Theatre Royal are expecting a dramatic evening, but what they get is beyond their wildest imaginations. Peter Diamond, Bath’s top detective, is given the case. Soon the tension at the theatre mounts, legends come to life and the killer strikes again. 327pp in paperback. £7.99 NOW £4


51691 VINTAGE MYSTERY AND DETECTIVE


STORIES edited by David Stuart Davies Opening with ‘The Purloined Letter’ by Edgar Allan Poe and ‘Silver Blaze’ by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, by way of Wilkie Collins, Arnold Bennett, G. K. Chesterton, Edgar Wallace, Charles Dickens, Mrs Henry Wood, J. S. Le Fanu, Ernest Bramah, E. W. Hornung, Harry Blyth and ending with Fergus Hume, these detective stories are perennial favourites. Enjoy tales of baffling mystery, usually involving a murder and only one gifted individual, the starring detective who can actually solve it. Each is a satisfying read. Omnibus paperback of 1280pp. ONLY £7


72378 PRAGUE FATALE: A Bertie Gunther Thriller by Philip Kerr


Featuring the wartime German Kripopolitzei (Criminal Police) detective Bernie Gunther treading the fine and deadly line between doing his job and not upsetting the increasingly paranoid and deranged Nazi leadership. It is September 1941 and, returning to his hometown of Berlin from the horrors of the Eastern Front, he finds that things have changed decidedly for the worse, with blackouts, RAF bombing, rationing and terrorism making his already difficult job even harder. But no sooner is he settled than he is obliged to travel to Prague to stay for the weekend at the country house of his old boss Reinhard Heydrich of the Sicherhietsdienst (SD), the chief intelligence-gathering organisation of the SS. Then a body is found inside a room that was locked from the inside. 439pp. £17.99 NOW £4


EARLY LEARNING


You can’t help respecting anybody who can spell TUESDAY, even if he doesn’t spell it right; but spelling isn’t everything.


- A. A. Milne, Rabbit about Owl in Winnie the Pooh


73977 OUR ISLAND STORY: A


History of Britain by H. E. Marshall First published in 1905, very little is known abut the life of Henrietta Elizabeth Marshall except that she is thought to have been born in 1867. The text used for this 2007 heavyweight paperback edition is based on a later edition and contains minor amendments to this much- loved children’s history of Britain, here revised for a new generation. Alongside myths and legends such as King Arthur and Canute commanding the tide, here is Queen Boadicea’s stand against the Romans, the Princes in the Tower, the Great Fire of London, the Battle of Trafalgar, William the Conqueror, Henry IV and the Battle of Shrewsbury, Edward VII, the story of a boy king, the battles of Stamford Bridge, Hastings, the story of Lady Jane Grey, Anne and how the Union Jack was made, the stories of Bonnie Prince Charlie, Flora MacDonald, the Black Hole of Calcutta, how Canada was won, how America was lost, the story of the spinning wheel and more. Heavy quality paper, 30 charming atmospheric illustrations in colour. A classic work. 474pp in softback. £12.99 NOW £6


73971 MARTHA SPEAKS ABOUT LEARNING: Boxed


Set by Susan Meddaugh Martha the dog learned to speak when she ate a bowl of alphabet soup. The letters went to her brain instead of her stomach and since then she has gone on many


adventures and has a hit US TV series. The Martha Blah Blah storybook features Martha’s adventures after the owner of the local soup factory decides to cut costs by leaving half the letters out of the alphabet soup. Play the three vocabulary building computer games with animation on the CD Rom enclosed. Turn over the cards of the Concentration Game and match the word with its definition. Gab Libs Fill-In Fun Book makes learning parts of speech a doddle. The Language Arts Activity Books present a wide range of vocabulary- building activities and kids will learn about parts of speech, idioms, synonyms, understanding stories and poetry, writing and more. More than 150 colour stickers feature words and characters to use in your Gab Libs book on three sticker sheets. A 15" x 15" colour poster has speech bubbles to fill in and personalise your wall poster. Finally there is a Certificate of Achievement where Martha will tell you that you are a remarkable, splendid and amazing reader. Suit ages five to eight and with an envelope included to store loose items. $16.99 NOW £6.50


73974 ON THE FARM PLAY


SCENE by Kaori Watanabe With carry handle, the double-sided board opens out to a flat laminated scene of a farm with a bright yellow duck on the pond, a cow, sheep, horse, vegetable patch and big barn. Use the 50+ reusable vinyl stickers to decorate the scene in an imaginative way. Ages 3+. £7.99 NOW £4


73925 A WALK IN LONDON


by Salvatore Rubbino The talented artist author was shortlisted for the Victoria & Albert Museum Illustration Awards and his charming big picture book will be enjoyed by youngsters aged eight to adult. He has captured the spirit of one of the world’s oldest and most exciting cities, London. ‘Not many people know that London’s official central point is on the


roundabout just south of Trafalgar Square. From this spot, Manchester is 184 miles away, Rome is 1,118 miles away…’ And Trafalgar Square is just 30 feet away! Join a mother and daughter on a very exciting day trip from Big Ben through beautiful St. James’s Park to meet the pelicans who were given to King Charles II in 1664 by the Russian Ambassador, through Covent Garden Piazza to St. Paul’s Cathedral and up to the Whispering Gallery via 259 steps, visit the Bank of England, the Tower of London to see the crown jewels, and did you spot the royal family’s car tucked away in the artwork on many of these glorious scenes? Best of all there is a big fold out panorama on a double page spread, showcasing highlights like the London Eye. 40 very big colourful pages in this collectable imported US first edition 2011. $16.99 NOW £6


73950 EYE SEE YOU: A Poster Book


by Storey Publishing The red-eyed tree frog (with matching red fingers), a family of Japanese macaques, a lemur, a lion, giraffe, polar bear, tarantula, black panther, hippo and the huge eyed Northern Saw-Whet owl are among the 30 animals who have joined the wildest staring contest!


30 close-up poster sized photographs, flip over the posters to learn more about the animals and how they use their eyes for hunting, in action, with facts about them and their history and other main characteristics. The posters are easily detachable from this outsized softback. Colour. £8.99 NOW £3


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